U.S. patent number 7,044,553 [Application Number 10/873,535] was granted by the patent office on 2006-05-16 for vehicle seat suspension with omni directional isolator.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sears Manufacturing Co.. Invention is credited to Dale Ropp.
United States Patent |
7,044,553 |
Ropp |
May 16, 2006 |
Vehicle seat suspension with omni directional isolator
Abstract
A vehicle seat suspension apparatus that is mechanically simple,
inexpensive, occupies little space, and operates effectively with
force inputs from any horizontal direction. The preferred
embodiment includes a base, an isolator, and a plurality of links
connected to both the base and isolator so that the isolator is
suspended from the base and can move or swing horizontally in all
directions relative to the base. The isolator has an upper plate
with two flanges that depend from the plate. The base is positioned
directly below the upper plate and between the two flanges. The
links are connected to the base and the flanges of the isolator by
means of ball and socket connectors that permit the isolator to
move in all horizontal directions relative to the base.
Inventors: |
Ropp; Dale (Buda, IL) |
Assignee: |
Sears Manufacturing Co.
(Davenport, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
34711964 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/873,535 |
Filed: |
June 22, 2004 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20050280302 A1 |
Dec 22, 2005 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/344.15;
297/313; 297/314; 297/325; 297/329; 297/344.13; 297/344.17 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N
2/508 (20130101); B60N 2/507 (20130101); B60N
2/062 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60N
2/02 (20060101); B60N 2/10 (20060101); B60N
2/16 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;297/344.17,344.15,344.13,311,344.1,313,314,325,329,330
;248/424,421 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
02024232 |
|
Jan 1990 |
|
JP |
|
03220031 |
|
Sep 1991 |
|
JP |
|
05199930 |
|
Aug 1993 |
|
JP |
|
Other References
British Search Report, Jun. 22, 2005. cited by other.
|
Primary Examiner: White; Rodney B.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Niro, Scavone, Haller &
Niro
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A vehicle seat suspension apparatus comprising: a base having at
least one platform; an isolator positioned above the base and
including a plurality of depending side members extending to a
level below the platform; and a plurality of links for suspending
the isolator from the base, the links being connected to the
platform and the side members of the isolator in a manner
permitting the isolator to self center and move horizontally in all
directions relative to the base.
2. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 1 wherein the
isolator includes a pair of flanges depending from opposing sides
of the plate, and the base platform is positioned below the
isolator plate and between the flanges, and wherein the links
connect the base platform to the flanges to thereby suspend the
isolator from the base.
3. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of
the links comprises an intermediate segment with a ball connector
at each end, the ball connectors being adapted to cooperate with
socket connectors associated with the base platform and the
isolator flanges.
4. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 1 further
comprising a first stop member extending from one of either the
base or isolator and a second stop member in the other of the base
or isolator, the first and second stop members cooperating to limit
the horizontal movement of the isolator.
5. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 4 wherein either
or both of the stop members includes an elastomeric bumper.
6. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 4 wherein the
first stop member comprises a stop post extending from the base and
includes a conical elastomeric bumper.
7. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 6 wherein the
second stop member comprises an aperture on the isolator plate and
includes an annular elastomeric bumper.
8. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 1 further
comprising a locking element located on one of either the base or
isolator and a second locking element located on the other of the
base or isolator, the first and second locking elements being
engageable to lock the position of the isolator relative to the
base.
9. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 8 wherein the
first locking element comprises a lock pin extending from the base
through a lock aperture on the isolator, and the second locking
element comprises a movable latch plate to engage or disengage from
the lock pin.
10. A vehicle seat suspension apparatus comprising: a base
comprising a lower platform adapted for assembly to a vehicle and
an upper platform vertically movable relative to the lower
platform; an isolator plate positioned above the upper platform and
having a pair of depending flanges; and a plurality of links
suspending the isolator plate from the upper platform, the links
being connected to the upper platform and the isolator plate
flanges by means of ball and socket connections thereby permitting
the isolator plate to move horizontally in all directions relative
to the upper platform.
11. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 10 wherein the
isolator plate flanges include openings positioned adjacent the
links to accommodate the horizontal movement of the isolator
plate.
12. The vehicle seat suspension apparatus of claim 11 further
including a stop member extending from the upper platform through a
stop aperature in the isolator plate, the stop member having a
conical elastomeric bumper and the stop aperture having an annular
elastomeric bumper.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to vehicle seat suspension.
More particularly, the invention relates to a vehicle seat
suspension which incorporates a new and unique isolation system for
reducing the transmission of horizontally directed forces to the
seat occupant.
For many years, it has been common practice to provide vehicle
seats with some form of "isolation" system. So called "fore and
aft" isolators have been employed to reduce the undesirable effects
of forces inputted to the seat from the front or back. So too,
"lateral" isolators have been used for the same purpose with
respect to forces input from the sides of the vehicle. Oftentimes,
both fore/aft and lateral isolators are used together. The combined
systems, however, are less than satisfactory. First they are
relatively complex mechanically and are therefore expensive both to
manufacture and install. Second, with space constraints becoming
increasingly severe, these combined systems tend to present too
high a profile. Lastly, they tend to react along the fore and aft
or lateral axes and therefore do not react as effectively to
angular inputs. It would be desirable therefore to provide a truly
omni directional isolator that is simple in construction,
inexpensive to manufacture, effective in attenuating forces input
from all directions, and occupies a relatively small space
envelope.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a vehicle seat suspension
apparatus that achieves the aforementioned goals. It is relatively
small, mechanically simple, inexpensive, and operates effectively
with force inputs from any horizontal direction. The invention
comprises a base, an isolator, and a plurality of links connected
to both the base and isolator so that the isolator is suspended
from the base and can move or swing horizontally in all directions
relative to the base.
In the illustrated preferred embodiment the isolator is constructed
with an upper plate having two flanges that depend from the plate.
The base is positioned directly below the upper plate and between
the two flanges. The links are connected to the base and the
flanges of the isolator by means of ball and socket connectors that
permit the isolator to move in all horizontal directions relative
to the base.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features which are characteristic of the present
invention are set forth in the appended claims. However, the
invention's preferred embodiments, together with further objects
and attendant advantages, will be best understood by reference to
the following detailed description taken in connection with the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the preferred embodiment
illustrated in FIG. 1 with the isolator plate removed to show
details of construction;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the same preferred embodiment shown in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-section view of certain components
circled in FIG. 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 are end views of the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing
respectively centered and displaced positions of the isolator;
and
FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view, in partial cross-section,
illustrating one preferred link mechanism useful in the practice of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to the drawings, a vehicle seat suspension apparatus
is illustrated in one preferred form and designated generally as
10. The suspension apparatus 10 includes, as basic components, a
base 12, an isolator 14 and a plurality of links 16 which are used
to suspend the isolator from the base.
The base 12 may take many forms well known to those skilled in the
art. In the illustrated embodiment the base has a lower platform 20
and an upper platform 22 mounted to permit vertical movement of the
two platforms relative to one another. The mechanism that provides
this vertical movement functionality is shown to be a conventional
scissors linkage 24, although many other designs may be employed.
As the following description will make clear, the base may comprise
any suitable structure that will accommodate the links 16 and
support the isolator suspended from it. To that end, the upper
platform includes a plurality of fixtures 26 that support the
connector to which the links 16 are assembled.
The isolator 14 comprises an upper plate 28, to which the seat is
mounted in any conventional manner, and a pair of flanges 30
depending from opposing sides of plate 28. Fixtures 32 are located
adjacent the bottom edges of the flanges and serve to support the
connector to which the links 16 are assembled. The upper plate 28
and flanges 30 are dimensioned so that the base platform 22 may be
positioned under the plate and between the flanges, as shown. The
flanges 30 also have apertures or cutouts 34 located at the point
where the links are connected to the flanges. These apertures 34
allow movement of the isolator relative to the base without
interference between the flanges and the links. Those of skill in
the art will appreciate that the amount of isolator movement or
travel that can be achieved is a function of the height of the
flanges, and therefore the length of the links, together with the
amount of separation between the edges of the upper platform 22 and
the downwardly extending flanges 30. Longer links and greater
separation will allow greater isolator travel.
The links 16 are each made up of an intermediate segment which
terminates at each end in a connector 40. As illustrated, the
connectors 40 have a socket configuration designed to cooperate
with the ball connectors 42 mounted to the fixtures 26 and 32.
Together, the connectors 40 and 42 comprise a connection that
permits the links to move through 360 degrees around the links'
vertical orientation. Thus, the isolator 14 is able to move in any
horizontal direction relative to base 12.
One preferred embodiment of the invention also makes use of an
isolator travel limit system comprising first and second stop
members associated with the base and isolator. As illustrated, a
stop post 46 extends from the upper platform 22 and through stop
aperture 48 located in the isolator upper plate 28. The stop post
may be fitted with a conical bumper 50, preferably made of a
suitable elastomer. The aperture 48 may also include and
elastomeric bumper 52. As a result, the travel of isolator 14 is
limited by the engagement of the two stop members. Those of skill
in the art will appreciate that the positions of the post 46 and
aperture 48 may be reversed so that the post extends down from the
isolator and through the aperture located on the base.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention, a
lock out system may also be employed. Again, with reference to the
illustrated embodiment one or more lock pins 56 extend upwardly
from the upper platform 22 and through appropriately situated lock
apertures 58 in the isolator. One or more latch plates 60 are
mounted to a lock out actuation lever 62 which permits movement of
the latch plates to engage or disengage the lock pins 56. When
engages the isolator 14 is locked in fixed position relative to the
base 12.
There are important advantages associated with the present
invention. One is that because of the gravitationally controlled,
self centering characteristics of this suspended isolator design,
there is no need for centering springs as are commonly used with
most prior art isolator systems. Another advantage has to do with
the specific path of travel of the isolator. As the isolator moves
off its center position it not only travels horizontally, but also
along an upwardly curving path. This creates an increasing
resistance to further movement, or the equivalent of an "increasing
spring rate" resistence, which is a desirable attribute in seat
isolation systems. Still another advantage of the present invention
is that there is very little resistance to movement of the isolator
at or near its center point. This allows the system to be more
effective in attenuating high frequency and low magnitude inputs as
compared to conventional isolators using spring and shock absorber
arrangements. Finally, the isolator system of the present invention
has a much lower profile than conventional isolator systems.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various
changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated
embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present
invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be
covered by the appended claims.
* * * * *